Representation_and_Truth

The truth, or absolute truth is a variable concept, thus it is constantly under construction. The portrayal of the truth is an ethical concern which is filtered through the hierarchy of power in the media. The obscuring lines between journalism and entertainment have formulated a subgenre where complete dissemination of the truth has been blemished by the authority of the composer. This is particularly over is Sitch et al’s Frontline (particularly in the episodes, “the siege”, “smaller fish to fry”, and “add sex and stir”) and the Simpsons episode, “Homer Bad Man”. These texts embody the representation of the truth through the primary themes of truth as a commodity, investigating the truth and the absolute truth which coincides with the composer’s values and ideologies which transcend time and context. Manipulation of the truth for corporate gain is the prominent value highlighted in “the siege”. Through the employment of hand-held camera, the “Frontline” team screen the footage that they want the audience to view. This works to their advantage as they can broadcast the stories that would grant them the most ratings. This is evident in the Gavin scene through mise en scene where Marty crouches to make it seem as if he is in danger even thought he has, along with other media programmes, been restricted access to “the line of fire” by the police. This is reinforced by the conversation between Mart and a crewmember in, “why are you crouching'” To make it seem as if I’m in danger. Do you want a flak jacket too'” This appeals to the audience’s emotions in that excitement is generated through the fabrication of the possibility of jeopardy, thus “Frontline” receives more ratings. “Smaller Fish to Fry” is an ironic twist on the cliché “Bigger Fish to Fry” and portrays how the powerful within society exploit their influence to manipulate the truth to serve their own interests. The team tirelessly pursues the “small fish” such as the dry cleaners to get an easy story with good ratings. In a clear example of the theme, investigating the truth, Mike attempts to pursue a story on the “big fish”. Brian disapproves, which is evoked in, “the audience simply doesn’t have the attention span” and “fraud doesn’t give you vision”. The banks, the “big fish” in question influence the managing director of the channel, who in turn controls the managing director of “Frontline”, who controls Brian who controls Mike. This hierarchy of authority is represented through the succession of interviews between the parties. Thus the truth is filtered through the hierarchy of power, illustrating the way those in power control the dissemination of information. Irony is utilized to highlight the difficulty of airing the story, conveyed through the scene in which Mike boasts about his story, “there shouldn’t be any problems” which is juxtaposed with the outcry, “what sort of problems'” Verisimilitude is apparent in the metaphorical nature of Brian’s comment, “I’ll just put it on the back burner”, symbolising the truth being withheld to suite the goals of the more powerful and highlights how the truth is always under construction. In “Add Sex and Stir”, the theme of absolute truth was palpable. It is represented through the style of reporting that Brooke adopts in covering the story of the sport star, Allison. Allison claims she was dropped from her team because she wasn’t a lesbian. Brooke reports from her point of view but manipulates her voice by changing the question she was originally going to ask her, into “How many women in the team are gay”. By changing the question, she changes the context of Allison’s answer. The team captain Therese, confronts Brooke and declares, “You reported half the story, you beat up the rest” and “Did you know the facts' Did you bother asking anyone else'” Her arguments are very convincing due to the high modality that is engineered into her characters speech. Her comments emphasise that Brooke didn’t report the absolute truth but only a part of it. In the Simpsons episode, “Homer Bad Man”, the power that the media have over mainstream society is hyperbolised in the sense that it causes the entire town to lash out against Homer. This is achieved through sensationalising the incident with the alleged sexual harassment of the babysitter. The media exploit the mob mentality within society to maintain the circulation of the story which ultimately increases their ratings. The interview which Homer partakes in is edited to quite literally suggest the exact opposite of what he is actually saying. This is evident of the media manipulating the truth to broadcast what they want in order to maximise their ratings and profits which is evident in Lisa’s comments, “The media don’t care about the truth; all they care about is entertainment.” Through the characterisation of Homer, Matt Groening is able to indicate to the audience that society has a general view that what u view on TV is the truth which is echoed in Homer’s comments, “TV is always right”. Caricature is utilized in the re-enactment video where Homer’s tainted image by the media is represented by an overly psychotic character that hyperbolises the media’s story to another degree. This heightens the mob mentality within society and fuels the unjust targeting of Homer. The primary aim of the media is to receive as much ratings as possible for corporate gain. Some of the methods that are used to earn these ratings are considered unethical, typically methods by current affairs programs. Frontline and the Simpsons are all satirical texts that outline the media’s constant strive for ratings by the manipulation of the truth.